Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), laid out a new vision for the organization in a speech Thursday, and discussed its role in conflict resolution and combating Islamophobia. The OIC, with 57 member states and five observer states, is the second largest inter-governmental organization in the world. It recently released a new charter that came out of discussions held in Makkah in December 2005 as a response to “new realities, such as the occupation of Iraq, the situation in Afghanistan and the painful stalemate in Palestine as well as increasing tension with the western world,” Ihsangolu said at New York's Columbia University. The new charter is a reflection of “moderation and modernization,” Ihsangolu said. “It emphasizes inter-civilizational and interfaith dialogues based on mutual respect and equality among interlocutors and rejects and condemns all forms of fanaticism, extremism, terrorism and bigotry.” To this end, the OIC has established an independent human rights commission to examine allegations of rights abuses in member states. The charter also stresses socio-economic development with “a view to empowering the Muslim world to achieve effective integration in the global economy,” Ihsangolu said. The secretary general also said he supports “the recent intensification of regional peace and mediation initiatives, including the Saudi, Turkish and Qatari efforts on different aspects of conflicts in the Middle East and Horn of Africa.” He said the OIC is seen is a “trusted and authoritative spokesperson for the Muslim world” on major global political issues such as Palestine, Iraq, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Somalia and Cyprus. Ihsangolu added that he welcomed the recent decision by the White House to appoint a special envoy to the OIC. In talking about Islamophobia, Ihsangolu said it “is a new name to an old phenomenon” and urged politicians in western countries to combat it. “The tendency to divide the world into good and evil, civilized and uncivilized, is inviting hostilities, disputes and instability,” he added. When asked about the OIC position on reform of the U.N. Security Council, Ihsangolu said, “we want a seat on the Security Council. We have 1.5 billion people and a monopoly on the problems in the world.”
